Now, if you were a smart girl, would you be tempted to consider a career in politics?
A chance to shape the way our country is run? After all, we can hardly complain women’s views aren’t heard if we don’t get stuck in at the coal face.
I’m regularly asked why I’m not interested — but, frankly, the prospect of suspending rational thought, behaving like a lemming, and having to take seriously those prats who continually spout party-line twaddle (Ed Miliband, Danny Alexander, Ed Balls, Vince Cable and George Osborne to name but a handful) seems less appealing than having my toenails pulled out or sharing a bedsit with Jeremy Clarkson.
The situation is dire. Currently, the number of female MPs — just one in five — lags way below comparable European countries.
Our supposedly new and ‘transparent’ Government is as full of macho spin-doctors and advisers as Gordon Brown’s, and David Cameron seems unable to attract female voters, because he has dithered over quotas on boards, made cuts to child benefit and legal aid, and has very few women in the Cabinet.
Although Cameron said during his trip to India that Samantha nags him about this lack of girl power, he seems unable to deliver anything more than good intentions.
Now, the Lib Dems are engulfed in a scandal that demonstrates how they may not be exactly pro-women either.
A group of
female party activists (how aspiring MPs try to get a foot on the
ladder) have come forward alleging they were the subject of unwelcome
sexual advances by the party’s former boss, Lord Rennard, dating back to
2004. Lord Rennard denies the allegations.
A chance to shape the way our country is run? After all, we can hardly complain women’s views aren’t heard if we don’t get stuck in at the coal face.
I’m regularly asked why I’m not interested — but, frankly, the prospect of suspending rational thought, behaving like a lemming, and having to take seriously those prats who continually spout party-line twaddle (Ed Miliband, Danny Alexander, Ed Balls, Vince Cable and George Osborne to name but a handful) seems less appealing than having my toenails pulled out or sharing a bedsit with Jeremy Clarkson.
The prospect of having to take seriously those
prats who continually spout party-line twaddle seems less appealing than
having my toenails pulled out
Our supposedly new and ‘transparent’ Government is as full of macho spin-doctors and advisers as Gordon Brown’s, and David Cameron seems unable to attract female voters, because he has dithered over quotas on boards, made cuts to child benefit and legal aid, and has very few women in the Cabinet.
Although Cameron said during his trip to India that Samantha nags him about this lack of girl power, he seems unable to deliver anything more than good intentions.
Now, the Lib Dems are engulfed in a scandal that demonstrates how they may not be exactly pro-women either.
Women like Jo Swinson and Harriet Harman have to 'shut up and fit in'